whitewolf393

Fellow hunters,

There is a good chance that I'll be relocating to the Seattle area in Washington State next spring, and I was curious as to how the hunting out there is. I've never been to the state, but I understand the hunting is good, and the state itself is very diverse with landscape and game species.

Any advice or information is greatly appreciated, as always!

-WW

steeliekingfisher

i live just outside of seattle. 30 miles. Bear, cougar, deer, (mule,whitetail,blacktail) and elk over the counter. Moose, goat, ram lottery. Turkey, pheasant, grouse, chukar, quail, ducks, goose, bobcat, coyote, killer fishing for all 5 species salmon, well sockeye isnt that good. Great place to live and hunt, and I can go on and on about the other fishing and hunting opportunities here. [email protected]. Get in touch, I can show you around. I hunt, fish and trap ;like a mad man. lol. shot a few bobcats, 5x6 whitetail 138 5/8 net, 278 lbs dressed cinnamon bear, tons of ducks and geese, lots of upland birds, coyotes and trapped a good amount of cats and others also. I also have a boat so we fish for salmon year round in the state along with steelhead. This state can be great to hunt and fish or terrible. Just depends on where and when you go. Drop me a line, when u get here I can direct you into some good places. I hunt mostly private ground but the state land and national forest are good also.

hunt genious

Big Variety of game to hunt out hear But not always the easiest hunting especially on the west side of the Mountains Im in Vancouver And love this State's hunting most of the time

whitewolf393

Thank you all for the good info. Hope to be hunting out there when I go!

-WW

1371Marine

The hunting here is what you make of it. Lots of animals if you are willing to put little effort into it.

Jackelope

I have been here since '97 and one thing i will say..it is very different than the east coast.i'm from upstate NY originally and hunting back there, i never killed a deer more than 75 yds away.out here i have killed 5 deer in thelast 5 years and the closest one was about 90yds. last years was 186yds. be prepared for that. the diversity is amazing. if you feel like being in the desert, drive 3 hrs to eastern wa. if you feel like going to the ocean, 2 hrs away. want to go hike around in the high country?? a couple hours will get you there. whitetails, mule deer, blacktails, elk, black bear, turkeys, awesome waterfowl, whatever upland bird species you want, great fishing. the list goes on. and the most drive time to get anywhere is 5-6 hours. you just have to put your time in and decide what you want to do.

whitewolf393

Jackelope,

Thanks for the info. I have heard that there's quite a diversity of game out there, and the landscape is just as varied. That sounds good to me, but I need to get in touch with my longer range shooting skills before I head out there, it sounds like :}

I'll be out there this August for a week to visit. I have a good friend who lives in Issiquah, so I'll be staying there, but I want to see as much of the state as possible while I'm there.

Mite

If you're staying in Issaquah, then jump on I-90 and go over the pass. At around Salmon LaSac area is good just for scouting around. Less undergrowth. But August you'll still see alot of hikers roaming the area and people who '4-wheeling' in their SUVs mainly Seattlites that wanna get out for the weekend. For desert like terrian, drive east alittle more andto Ellensburg and beyond. Thenortheastern part of the state(Winthorp, Kettle falls, etc.) is where mostwhitetails are taken but also has upland birds.

Actually, once you get past North Bend, you'll see more and more open country. The western part is too crowded and land prices are at a premium. But if you like duck hunting, its actually okay.

whitewolf393

Mite,

Thanks a bunch. Since I don't start hunting until October, those Seattlites out and about wouldn't be a problem. Until that time, all spring and summer, I'm fishing :}

I figured I would have to go out further east and into the Cascades for the real game, but I was reading a good excerpt on Columbia blacktail hunting in the western part of the state. Do you have any experience with that?

Jackelope

blacktails are tough. this side of the state the woods are incredibly thick, rain-forest like. they are real tough to find. you can buy bull elk tags 3 pt minimum over the counter for western wa, but it's so thick even they are tough to find. 3-4 hour drive one way will get you almost to all 4 corners of the state. be prepared for very hot temp's in august in eastern wa. it is very arid and desert-like in most areas. columbia basin, winthrop, twisp areas are all good for sightseeing and hunting. do some sight-seeing and decide what you think. you will probably like it.
oh yeah, by the way, there are still lots of seatlleites out hiking, etc in october. you can't go wrong with the fishing though, either...flyfisherman by chance??